Tag: Safety Net

When we got married nearly 21 years ago we were given a top-of-the-line Cuisinart Food Processor. We had not registered for said item and since neither of us could really cook there was a reason why it didn’t make the list. But it was fancy and expensive and we couldn’t bring ourselves to just get rid of it. We moved it from our first apartment to our first house and then to a second house all the while it remained unopened in its original box. When the decluttering bug first bit me, that was one of the first things to go. Using the mantra of “do I use it or do I love it” it clearly didn’t make the cut and out it went. Fast-forward several years later when we actually did start cooking more and we needed a food processor but could only afford a very basic one. So of course, we launched into a whole debate over why we got rid of a perfectly good thing that now we would use and love. Crap! I’m not going to pin my decluttering downfall on this particular incident but it certainly didn’t help our cause. After making do for several years with what we could afford we finally bought a 2017 version of the 1997 Cuisinart Food Processor. We use it about three times a week, and by we I mean Dave.

This time around we have set aside $300 to replace any items that we regret getting rid of. Now I don’t mean just regret but that we find ourselves repeatedly MacGyvering some solution for the thing we got rid of. I am calling this our Decluttering Safety Net and so far it is creating fantastic freedom to let go of things without worry.